


A New Beginning

by MelikaJ



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Friendship, Love/Hate, Magic, Romance, Self-Discovery, Slow Build, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-05-03 19:44:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5304416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelikaJ/pseuds/MelikaJ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain Swan highschool AU from Emma's PoV! It involves a few other characters, but it's mainly going to focus on Emma dealing with her feelings for Killian. It'll also look at her relationships with some other very familiar faces, and the suggestion that she has magic.</p><p>So if you like high school AUs, and you like Emma/ Captain Swan then this is probably a good fic for you!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is my first Once Upon A Time fic. I'll try to update at least once a week, if not more. I really appreciate comments on things you like, characters you like/ want to see, suggestions for future chapters. I love getting feedback :)

“Emma, hurry up! We won’t ask you again!” Gina was the strictest of the careworkers in this new home, and Emma knew she had no choice but to get on the bus with the rest of the kids.  
“Please, Gina, don’t make me go. I’m going to get bullied again, let me just stay here, it’s not like anyone will care if I go to school or not. I’m new, they don’t know me.”  
“Emma, this is your first day back and I do not have the time to be dealing with your nonsense. GET ON THAT BUS!”  
Emma grabbed her bag, and walked reluctantly up the steps. As she made her way to the back of the bus she heard a few of the other kids whispering to each other, and made out words like ‘annoying’ and ‘freak’. She’d been at this new home for nearly 2 weeks now, and still didn’t have a single friend to show for it. Not that she was surprised, she’d been almost a year at the old home, and she hadn’t had any friends there either. She thought she’d had one, but he’d betrayed her, and she’d learned not to trust people any more.

As she sat herself down at a window seat near the back, she reflected on the incident that had caused her to be moved here in the first place. Neal had been the only person she really spoke to at the old home. He was funny, exciting, and had seemed genuinely interested in her. They’d arrived roughly at the same time, and bonded when they both tried to steal the same cake from the kitchen. They had always worked together on everything, they’d take it in turns to do homework, and would be an alibi for the cover story the other one made up for not having done it. Emma would distract the careworkers while Neal sneaked in to the office to find extra pocket money, or took food from the kitchen. Neal was the best thing to ever happen to her … Or so she’d thought.

On her 15th birthday, Neal had ran into her room, and told her excitedly that he had a surprise for her. He said he’d found the key for the locker where the teachers kept all the confiscated phones. All she needed to do was pull the fire alarm, and he’d sneak in and take the phones. They could keep the best ones for themselves, then sell the rest and buy something really cool. It sounded perfect, and Emma had readily agreed. At first, everything went according to plan; Emma pulled the fire alarm, the whole school ran outside, and Neal went to the locker to get the phones. He’d forgotten his bag in the excitement, but Emma had just given him hers to hide them in, and he was going to put it straight back in her classroom when it was done. But as the class came back inside, the headteacher had come striding in. She’d walked straight up to Emma, and asked to check her bag, where of course she found all the phones. One was missing, but the headteacher thought Emma had just hidden it somewhere else. An anonymous student had turned Emma in. Emma was sent back to the home, and the careworkers threw her in her room. She’d remembered waiting all evening for Neal to come in so she could ask him what had happened. But he never came. The next morning, as she went down for breakfast she heard all the other kids muttering. Neal had run away. Over the next week, Emma was suspended while the school decided what to do with her, and even though she protested her innocence, she was seen on the CCTV pulling the fire alarm, and there were no cameras in the room with the locker. They said they had no choice but to expel her, and as there were no other schools in the local area, Emma had to be moved to a new home. And so here she was, about to start her first day at a new school. A new place to be mocked and bullied… She so hated her life.

After about 15 minutes, the bus slowed to a stop, and the kids started getting off. Emma sighed as she picked up her stuff and walked out with the rest of them. The sun was high in the sky, and she could already feel small beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Some jocks were playing football in the schoolyard, and there were clusters of kids chatting to each other. For a brief moment Emma envied them, wishing that she knew what it felt like to have friends and fit in, but then she brushed those thoughts out of her head, there was no point dwelling on what she’d never have. Over in the corner near the door, a boy on crutches was sat on a bench, staring intently at the crowd of people by the buses. His eyes met hers, and he smiled deeply; it unnerved Emma how excited he looked. The boy lifted himself onto his feet, and started making his way over to her. Emma looked around for somewhere to hide, but it was open ground, and at any rate, she’d feel kind of bad escaping someone on crutches. When he finally arrived in front of her, his sentence sent chills down her spine.  
“Hello, Emma. I’m August. I’ve been waiting a very long time for you.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> August tries to explain himself, and Emma meets a new face...

“Emma, wait!” August called after her, as Emma turned on her heels and started striding away from him. “Emma, please, just… Listen! Let me explain!”

“How do you know my name?!” Emma shouted at him angrily, turning back to face him with a furious glare. She’d just wanted the day to go by without any hassle, and this stupid boy had already ruined it for her. He smiled sadly at her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shock you like that, I just needed you to pay attention. The crutches don’t exactly exude confidence, people tend to ignore me. I couldn’t risk that happening with you, Emma. I really am sorry, I just got a bit overexcited, like I said, I’ve waited so long to see you again.” He looked shamefully down at the ground, and Emma couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him. ‘Again’ she thought, wondering what he meant. He met her eyes and continued. “We were in a care home together, you probably don’t remember me, do you?” Emma shook her head, puzzled, she knew she’d never seen him before, she was good with faces. “No, I wouldn’t expect you to. It was your first care home, you were just a baby when they brought you in. I was the one who found you, or so they told me, I don’t really remember that much, I was only 2 at the time. I’d been playing in the garden, and I found you, behind a hedge. We were there for 3 years together, until I was fostered… I begged them to take you with us, Emma, I really did. But they only wanted one child, they couldn’t take on the responsibility of both of us. I still feel so guilty about that moment, I should’ve insisted, or refused to go with them, but I was young and selfish, I wanted a family.”

“Why was that selfish? I don’t blame you for that, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a family. Why would you have risked that for me?” Emma couldn’t understand why August was telling her all of this, there must’ve been loads of other kids in that home, why was August obsessing over her?

“Ah, Emma, you really don’t know, do you? You’re special,” August paused and then whispered in awe, “You have magic.” Magic? This August guy was insane! What kind of game was he playing? Oh. And then Emma realised, that’s probably what it was, just a game. She doubted they’d even been in the same home, he was probably just a pathetic guy looking to have some fun at the new girl’s expense. Enough kids at the new home already hated her, one of them had probably told him her name and got him to play a trick on her. Well, it wasn’t gonna work. She sneered at him, and walked proudly away, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of running, especially as he wouldn’t be able to chase her on his crutches anyway. She ignored his calling out as she made her way to her class, just in time for the bell ringing.

She found her form tutor by looking at the school map Gina had thrust upon her before leaving, and she settled into one of the seats at the back, as the room steadily filled with teenagers. Her teacher, Miss Blanchard, wasn’t here yet, so instead she paid attention to the other kids in the class. She could already identify pretty much all the cliques- there were the nerds at the front, sorting out their pens and chatting about the holiday work, there were the jocks with their letterman jackets, leaning back on their chairs with their feet on the table, there were the goths wearing black and talking solemnly to each other, and various other friendship groups dotted around the classroom. Only one guy didn’t seem to fit in with the others, a cute dark haired boy with subtle eyeliner in the seat next to her who was sketching a ship on the front of his notepad. He looked up as he noticed her watching him, and winked cheekily as she blushed and looked away. She hoped he’d go back to drawing his ship, but instead he rested his elbow on the table, leaned his head against his hand, and continued to stare at her until an old man with a cane walked into the classroom and everyone shut up.

“I’m afraid Miss Blanchard isn’t feeling well today, so as headmaster it falls upon me to do the introductions. I trust you all worked hard over the break. Anyway, dearies, you have 2 new students joining your class.” The man’s voice was thin and quiet, and yet it had a stern quality that instantly made people feel intimidated; his face was somewhat scary too, his skin was so dry it made it appear cracked and fractured. Emma wondered who the other new student was, maybe she wasn’t the only one to get expelled last semester? “Firstly, let me introduce miss Emma Swan,” he looked around the class till his eyes met hers, “You’re lucky we accepted you after you got expelled from your last school, I assure you, we will not tolerate any rule breaking here, so I warn you to be on your best behaviour or I will personally send you straight back home to that care home of yours.” Rage bubbled inside of Emma, how dare he announce in front of the whole class that she was not only expelled, but that she lived in a care home! “Secondly, we have a transfer student from England, he-” But before the headmaster could finish his sentence, the boy next to her spoke up.

“Actually, sir, having seen what a terrible job you did introducing Swan here, I think I’ll just tell everybody who I am by myself.” He ignored the headmaster’s hostile eyes as he looked around the class, before smiling directly at Emma, “I’m Killian Jones.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think :)


	3. Chapter 3

After the headmaster (who Emma had heard was called Mr Gold) had left the room, Killian turned to her with a cheeky grin. _This isn’t gonna be good_ , she thought to herself, Mr Gold had hardly given her much of a chance to endear herself to the class. Everyone was going to think she was the weird kid whose own parents didn’t even want her… Emma had found that ‘normal’ children didn’t tend to make a habit of socialising with orphans. She felt the rage growing inside of her again, first that kid August had tried to make a fool of her, and now the headmaster had embarrassed her irreversibly. How come this Killian guy had gotten off so easily? Why couldn’t she have introduced herself like he did? Her resentment was overpowering.

“What do you want?” She snapped at him, hoping to scare him off, but to her annoyance his grin just deepened and he leaned slightly closer.

“Oooh, quite the attitude, I had a feeling you were a feisty one.” He paused, seeming to enjoy the angry glare she shot at him, before continuing, although his voice was slightly softer now. “So, you were expelled and you live in a care home? This is the only high school in the area, so I’m guessing your care home is new too? Must get pretty lonely.”

“I, uh, yeah. I mean, I guess.” Emma couldn’t work out why she hadn’t slapped the smile off his face, but there was something about his piercing gaze that caught her off guard. His words hadn’t been mocking, they’d been curious. Irritating as he was, he was at least talking to her, and he seemed genuine. But Neal had seemed genuine too, she reminded herself, and look where that had got her. “What do you care, anyway? Bet you think you’re so cool with your eyeliner and your leather jacket, I’ve already had one guy tease me today, I don’t really need another.”

“Try something new, darling, it’s called trust.” He said, evidently hurt as he turned away from her and went back to sketching his ship. Emma felt a little bad, but her walls were up, and she knew from experience that there was no point in trying to pull them back down because it never worked. It had always been easier to feel nothing at all than to allow herself to dwell on the crappy hand that life had dealt her. Killian could never understand what it was like to be her, and so he may be feeling dejected now, but it was probably better that he didn’t talk to her anyway. She needed to be alone right now.

The bell rang to signal the end of form tutor, and Emma could hear people whispering as she walked past. She considered trying to apologise to Killian for being mean about his appearance, she knew what it felt like to be self-conscious, but she couldn’t find him in the crowd of people moving out of the door. She guessed she’d just write him a note or something. Anyway, she should probably start figuring out which way she had to go now, her first class was Woodwork but she had absolutely no idea where that was, so she looked down once again at the map Gina had given her. The woman was strict, but at least she was efficient, although Emma doubted her and Neal would have gotten away with half the stuff they’d done if Gina had been at their old home. After successfully working out where to go, she arrived in the room and found herself a bench. A minute later, another person arrived at the bench… August.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were 17?” She exclaimed, flustered.

“I am,” he replied, smoothly, “but unfortunately I haven’t progressed in this class since my freshman year, they keep holding me back. Let’s just say I have unresolved wood-related issues.” He glanced sadly down at his legs as he said it, and Emma wondered if he’d been in an accident caused by hitting a tree or something. Anyway, she was determined to just ignore him and get this day over and done with, so she didn’t ask. But he apparently either didn’t notice her silence, or didn’t care, because he carried on talking despite it. “You know, Emma, I honestly didn’t mean to upset you earlier. I understand that hearing the word ‘magic’ must’ve been pretty confusing for you, but I promise I wasn’t lying to you. You’re not ready to believe yet, that’s fine, but can you at least believe that I believe? I’m not trying to wind you up or anything, and I really was in the care home with you, I have a picture at home to prove it, I’ll bring it in tomorrow if you want to see it? Please, Emma, don’t shut me out, I feel like I let you down before, and I want to be here for you. Maybe you can think of me as your slightly crazy friend?” He smiled as he said so, he really did have an easy smile, and the way he looked at her, he seemed so desperate for her to listen to him. She found it hard to believe that this guy was just playing a silly prank, so maybe he really was crazy enough to believe in magic. She thought of all the times she’d wished for a miracle to take her away from her boring life, and decided that maybe August needed to believe in the hope of magic in order to deal with whatever crappy stuff had happened in his life. Was she really going to judge him for that?

“Fine, but no more of this magic stuff. Let’s start over.” She held her hand out to him, “I’m Emma Swan.” He nodded appreciatively at her as he shook her hand and replied.

“I’m August Booth. Here’s to a new beginning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, so far the story has just been setting the scene, but from next chapter onwards you can look forward to more plot development, and growing Captain Swan chemistry. Please do let me know what you think, even if it's just a word or two, your comments would really mean a lot to me :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some real interactions between Killian and Emma! Enjoy :)

As Emma once again sat near the back of the bus on the way back home, she looked back on her day. She was glad she’d made friends with August, but he was an absolutely useless woodwork partner, he hadn’t been kidding about having an aversion to it. He’d winced every time she’d used the saw, and had flat out refused to hammer any pieces together. Eventually she decided to just task him with sanding down the pieces she’d sawed, but even then he’d done it so lightly that she’d had to go over it again. Still, his poor woodwork aside, she’d actually enjoyed chatting with him, he was surprisingly easy to talk to, and he’d promised to bring a photo from their first care home with him the next day for her to look at. She was secretly really excited to see it, she’d only seen one picture of herself as a toddler, and that was the one hidden in her file. 

The bus pulled in, and she practically ran inside, she couldn’t wait to just collapse on her mattress and take some time alone. She opened her door and then slumped against it as she closed it, finally, some peace and quiet.

“Lovely place you’ve got here,” called a friendly but sarcastic voice behind her. Emma swivelled round in shock, and gaped as she saw Killian Jones perched on the edge of her bed. “I especially love the pink covers, didn’t peg you for a girly girl.” He continued with a roguish grin. 

“I, they, Gina just had to find a spare one when I moved in, she says I can choose my own when they take us shopping next week… How the hell did you get in here?!”

“You know, Swan, for someone who’s spent her life in the system, I’m amazed you haven’t realised how easy it is to sneak into one of these places. Seriously, there’s kids milling about everywhere, the staff are way too pre-occupied to notice one more.” He winked again, but Emma frowned at Killian’s words.

“How did you know I’ve spent my life in the system?” Her tone was accusatory.

“That massive chip on your shoulder, the one that seems to physically weigh you down with how much power you give it, that much hatred for the world doesn’t come from just a couple of years in a care home. That comes from never having known anything different. The way you snapped at me earlier… You’re too used to pushing people away.” 

“Oh yeah, I meant to say sorry about that, I didn’t mean it.”

“I know.” He replied quickly, kindly. Emma didn’t like his know-it-all attitude.

“Oh, really? And what made you so sure that I didn’t?”

“Because when you’re in pain the easiest thing to do is lash out at someone else,” his words had a depth to them that made Emma think he was talking from experience. “Besides, there’s no way you could have an issue with the guyliner, it makes me look hot… You like it.” He whispered flirtingly.

“Ugh, you’re so full of yourself! I take it back, I’m not sorry!” 

“Nuh-uh, you said it, no take-backsies!” Killian sang cheerfully, stepping closer.

“No take-backsies? What are you, 5?” She laughed despite herself, grabbing a pillow from the bed and hitting him with it. The blow caught him on his head and ruffled up his hair, making him look even cuter than before, although Emma would never admit that.

“Hey, you messed up my hair! That’s like my best feature, other than my gorgeous piercing eyes, of course.”

“Serves you right for being a vain idiot,” Emma insisted, “Now, please get out, Gina will kill me if she finds you here.”

“Seriously? You’re not allowed boys in your room? She must be a real prude.”

“No, I’m not allowed uninvited guests in my room without getting her permission. She’s not a prude, she’s practical.”

“Fine, so get permission.” Killian stepped closer again, raising his eyebrows and slowly biting his top lip, his tone had once again turned flirty.

“No! I don’t want you here either, you broke into my room! Now get out will you?” Emma sighed exasperatedly, stepping back from his advances. He rolled his eyes and headed towards the window, lifting it open and raising himself onto the window. Flustered, Emma ran over and half yelled, half whispered, “What are you doing?! Leave through the door like a normal person!”

“Fine, I’ll leave if you don’t want me, but I’m at least gonna have some fun with it. Besides, if anyone sees me they’ll think we were having a secret rendezvous, I think I prefer it that way. Catch you later, Swan.” He winked one final time as he lowered himself on to the roof, slid down the tiles, and jumped onto the grass, landing in a roll that made his long leather coat trail behind him like he was some kind of superhero. He walked away with a swagger, and didn’t once look back. Emma wasn’t sure if it was for her benefit, or if he really did think he was that cool. Emma closed the window, and collapsed on her bed, like she’d planned to in the first place. That Killian was irritating as hell, but she couldn’t deny that the room felt a little lonelier without him in it. She shook her head, clearing it of thoughts, and settled down for a nap. 

_He’s such an idiot,_ she thought drearily as she drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it, let me know what you think :)


	5. Chapter 5

Emma awoke that morning trembling with anticipation at the thought of seeing the picture August had promised her. She had so little to remind herself of her past, to be able to see and hold something as physical as a photograph… She knew it would sound stupid to anyone else, but to her it really meant a lot. She just really hoped she was right to trust August and he wasn’t playing her, she’s not sure she could take another betrayal so soon after Neal. Her life always seemed full of disappointment, and for once she just wanted a happy outcome.

She was unsure how she felt at the prospect of seeing Killian. She definitely had feelings for him, but what those feelings were she had no idea. It might be the start of a crush, but it could also just be that she found him really, really annoying and arrogant. She guessed she’d deal with that later, she didn’t have time to be thinking about boys in that way. Her friendship with Neal had been so intense, and she’d been so afraid of losing him that she’d never stopped to consider if they’d maybe had something more, but now that she already had lost him, she’d realised that maybe the reason it hurt SO much was because she’d stopped seeing him as just a friend long ago. Neal had made her feel so special, so much like herself, and then he’d broken her heart. Emma didn’t want to open herself up to that again, so she decided to just live in the moment in regards to Killian, and not worry herself trying to decode her feelings.

When her school bus pulled in, she stepped off, looking anxiously around for August, but it didn’t take her long to spot him as he was already stood by the bus stop waiting for her. He waved her over, and started limping to a slightly more secluded part of the playground.

“Emma, hey!” He greeted her cheerfully, reaching into his bag, and shuffling his hand about, searching for something, “I found the photo. I actually found a few, but this one was my favourite. It’s a little faded, it was taken like 13 years ago, but, I mean, it’s still clear enough. Here.” He handed it over to her, searching her face for signs of recognition. Emma nervously took the photo from him and stared down at it. A sweet little blond girl smiled up at her, her eyes beaming, unburdened from life, displaying the innocence she’d long grown out of. Next to her, a brown-haired boy had his arm resting on her shoulders, looking every bit like a protective older brother, and instead of smiling at the camera, he was smiling at her. It was unmistakeably August, his facial features were still the same, but this must’ve been before the accident as there was no sign of crutches or anything like that. Emma felt a tear forming in her right eye, and hurriedly wiped it away, hoping August wouldn’t notice.

“Thanks, August, it’s a really nice picture. I don’t have any of myself as a child… Would it be okay if I held onto this for a day or two?” She asked him tentatively. She knew it was his favourite, but it felt so novel looking at a picture of her younger self, seeing such a happy face. She wanted to be able to look at it a few more times, to try and connect with the smiley little girl in the photo. August smiled at her and nodded kindly.

“Keep it, like I said, I have plenty of photos of us. You deserve to have it, it’s the least I can do. I’m just glad you can believe me now, we were so close, Emma, and I never forgot about you. I really hope I can get your trust back, it would be nice to be that close to you again. And I know I promised not to go on about the whole magic thing, but you really are special, Emma. I want to be able to prove that to you.” Just then, the bell rang to signal the start of classes. “Anyway, guess I have to be off, I’ll see you at break time.”

Emma sauntered slowly to her form tutor, transfixed on the photo, barely looking up as she walked through the door. She realised instantly that this was a mistake, as she bumped into somebody in front of her. She felt her stomach sink as she recognised the slow, cruel voice that reprimanded her.

“Miss Swan, did you not hear me yesterday when I said we weren’t going to tolerate any bad behaviour from you? Crashing in to me, dearie, is not what I expect from my students. What’s that in your hand that was so much more important than looking where you’re going?” Mr Gold’s voice was devoid of any compassion as he reached out to snatch her photo away, but Emma instinctively pulled it close to her chest.

“I’m sorry, sir, it’s just a picture from my childhood that I was given, I’ll put it away. I didn’t mean to bump into you.” Emma hated sucking up to him, but she didn’t want to be humiliated like she had been yesterday. She stared pleadingly into his cold eyes, trying not to focus on the cracked skin around them, it freaked her out a bit.

“You won’t put it away until I say you can. You could’ve walked into anybody while looking at that photo, so it seems fair that everybody gets to look at it, as anybody could’ve been affected by it.” Emma couldn’t understand why the headmaster was so intent on bullying her over something so small, and she hated the idea of everyone seeing something so private. But just as she was debating whether to actually hand in the picture, a cheeky drawl from the back called out.

“Honestly, sir, I don’t think anybody else in the class is that fussed about looking at pictures of little girls, it’s kind of worrying that a headmaster of a school is so desperate to see photos of young children.” Killian smirked defiantly as Mr Gold strode angrily over to him, not even taking his feet off the desk, as he leaned back in his chair and faced the furious teacher. “Something wrong, crocodile?” A couple of kids in the class gasped in anticipation at Killian’s rude reference to Mr Gold’s face, Emma was worried about what kind of trouble it would get him into, but was guilty to realise she was also glad about having the heat taken off of her. She was expecting Mr Gold to fly into a rage, but he kept his calm as he peered down at Killian.

“With me, now.” He whispered before turning and stepping towards the door. “The rest of you move to your classes when you hear the bell.” He called to the class, without turning back, as Killian reluctantly followed him out, satchel over his shoulder, clutching his notebook under his arm. He winked at Emma as he went past her, but she could see that it was just a front, and recognised a glint of fear in his eyes. Without saying anything, he handed her a folded sheet from his notebook, and then left the room behind Mr Gold.

Emma curiously opened up the piece of paper, and smiled despite herself at what was on it. Fancy letters at the top read ‘A girly room for a girly girl’, and the rest of the page was a black and white sketch of her room, except the wallpaper was adorned with flowers and rainbows, there was a unicorn mobile hanging above her bed (which had the awful princess sheets she still had in her current room), and a rug in the shape of a dress was on her floor. A tidy scrawl at the bottom read ‘I didn’t have pink colouring pens, but just imagine everything is pink. I know you like things that way’. Emma shook her head, sighing incredulously to herself at the effort he’d gone through just to tease her. She folded it back up and placed it in her bag, next to the photo August had given her. _I’ll get him back_ , she thought determinedly, and sat down, her mind racing as she thought of how she could prank Killian.


	6. Bonus chapter!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Super sorry for the long wait, guys, I've been so busy with uni, so I'm writing this short bonus chapter to tide you over, the new chapter will hopefully be coming some time this week :)
> 
> So, without further ado... Here's how Killian got into Emma's room!

"Stupid machine!" Killian mumbled to himself, as he once again accidentally closed the tab on the computer he'd decided to use during his lunch break. He was still getting used to using computers, he'd always done everything on paper back in England, his family had been quite old fashioned that way. He'd seen the other kids out and about with their mobile phones, and laptops, but he had no interest in being glued to a tiny screen like that, not when he could be reading the fascinating stories that his brother, Liam, always picked out for him. He'd been home-schooled, and so never really had much interaction with other kids his age, but growing up, Liam had always been there for him, so he'd never cared. Killian stopped that train of thought, he didn't want to think about Liam right now, he had a task at hand.

He typed 'local care homes' into the search bar of Google, and was relieved to see that there was only one within a 25 kilometre radius. _Well, that was easy_ he thought, smirking to himself, as he noted down the address, before shutting down the computer. He had a map, and he loved navigating, he didn't need to use the Google version to find his way. Getting there before Emma would be the problem though, she took the bus home, so there was no way he'd beat her on foot, and he hadn't yet saved up enough for a bike... He'd have to skip his last class. That wasn't a problem though, his last class was art, and while in practice he loved drawing, he hated the class, because the teacher didn't see art as a creative process, she saw that her way was the right way, and anyone else was automatically wrong. Plus she had a weird obsession with painting dogs, and she smelled of smoke; Killian just didn't like her at all, and was sure she had some kind of dark secret. But he knew that was probably his imagination, he loved thinking about what everyone's secret lives were, trying to work out what they were hiding. He smiled as he tried to wonder what Emma's secret could be, he was excited to see her room, learn her story.

He ran out of the library, earning a glare from the librarian, but he knew she wasn't really angry. Mrs Gold was much sweeter than her husband, and as long as you didn't damage the books, she didn't really mind people being a bit rebellious. Reaching in his bag, he pulled out the map, and used a pencil to draw on the directions to Emma's care home, before determinedly setting out towards it.

Nearly an hour later, he arrived outside, shaking his head at the ridiculous lengths he was going to in order to tease Emma. She'd probably be leaving school right about now, so he didn't have long to get inside her room, have a look around, and then find a casual position to sit in to make it look like he'd been there ages. Impressions were everything, and he really wanted Emma to think he was cool and mysterious, she was the only girl in school who seemed any fun. A couple of the others had seemed to dig his look, but he had no interest in pursuing some silly giggling girls, he wanted someone with substance, and while he wasn't yet sure if Emma was his type, he knew for certain that she was entertaining. The door was closed, but not locked, so he confidently strode through, trying not to appear as out of place as he felt, he didn't want to start any awkward conversations. Inside the staff seemed to have their hands full with a younger boy who was screaming and refusing to give up the teddy he'd obviously stolen from the little girl crying next to him, so Killian slipped upstairs, and took a look around.

There were 11 doors on this level, and they all had various posters and name badges on them... Except one. He knew instantly that would be Emma's room, she kept herself to herself at school, no reason it would be any different here. He was so curious to see what was on the other side of that door, to really learn more about Emma, and so he cautiously turned the handle and walked through.

"Ha!" He laughed out loud, quickly raising his hand to muffle the noise, but he couldn't help it, looking at the girly pink sheets on the bed. _This_ he hadn't expected. But his laughter quickly turned sadder as he looked around the rest of the room. Nothing. No pictures, no posters, no cute little toys. There were belongings - a notepad, pens, a few books, but they weren't properly unpacked, nor untidy, they were sort of strewn in various places of the room. Everything felt so temporary, like it would soon all be gone. Killian wondered if that was how Emma saw it, wondered how she must feel, never having a place to call home. Of course, he had lost his home now, but at least he had memories of one, Emma... This was clearly all she knew. 

He was startled out of his thoughts by footsteps outside, so he quickly jumped on the bed and made himself comfortable. The handle turned, and he prepared his trademark smirk... _Now the fun begins_ he thought, happily.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for the long wait, but I hope you enjoy this chapter, a bit more character development in this one, and a surprise at the end!

Emma sat on a bench in the corner of the playground, staring down at the picture, when she heard footsteps coming up behind her. She quickly tucked the photo to her chest, and turned around, only to see Killian stood nervously behind her.

"How come you don't have detention?" She asked him, surprised at Mr Gold's apparent lenience, but Killian just laughed.

"Oh, I do have detention, every day this week in fact, but I just didn't really fancy it today. Thought I'd come over and see what all the fuss was about this picture that got me in so much trouble."

"You got yourself in trouble, I didn't ask you to do that, don't put the blame on me! Thanks and everything, but I don't owe you the right to look at my photo." Emma replied angrily.

"I know," Killian whispered quickly, "I didn't mean that. I stood up for you because Mr Gold is a bully, and it wasn't fair for him to pick on you like that. You don't have to show me the picture if you don't want to, I just thought it would be nice to learn more about your origin story."

"Origin story?" Emma giggled, amused by his unusual choice of words.

"Yeah," Killian smiled sheepishly, running his fingers through his hair, "I'm kind of a superhero nerd, among other things."

Emma gestured for him to sit down next to her, and he did, looking at her intently. Regardless of what she'd said, she kinda did feel like she owed him, after all, detention for a week was a harsh punishment, and he was going to be in even more trouble for sneaking out. It seemed only fair to let him see the picture, it wasn't that private anyway, not really. Slowly she handed it over to him, trying to read his face, wondering if he'd think she was silly for caring so much over it. But to her relief, he just carefully took it from her, and gazed at the smiling faces in the picture.

"I recognise that boy, his face is so familiar," He whispered, unwilling to break the ambience as he turned to her, "it's that kid with crutches, right?"

"Yeah, he's called August. Apparently we were in the same care home as kids, he's the one who gave me the photo. I don't have any other ones from my childhood."

"I noticed." Killian nodded, referring to when he'd broken into her room. "That must suck."

"I'm used to it," Emma shrugged, before starting to grow frustrated, not at Killian, but at the situation. "Nobody ever bothered to give me pictures, none of my care homes cared about keeping a record of my life. It was just a single snap of me for their files, and nothing else. Everyone always sees me as the naughty kid, and the care workers as these amazing people who have to put up with me, and they never consider that maybe I'm the one putting up with their indifference!" Emma shouted the last part, standing up angrily as her emotions overwhelmed her. Killian stood up too, and started walking away, and Emma was afraid she'd scared him away, but he beckoned for her to keep up, before breaking into a jog. "Where are we going?" She asked him breathlessly, tailing him as he jogged inside the main building.

"The library, there's something I want to show you, come on." He slowed to a walk as he walked through the library doors, and Emma followed him as he headed over to the children's fiction section. "Do you know this book?" He asked her, holding up a tattered copy of 'Peter Pan'. Emma raised her eyebrows sceptically at him.

"Of course I do, every child knows Peter Pan, he's the boy who never grew up. What child wouldn't want to stay a child forever, and live in Neverland?"

"But did you know that in the original story, Pan was the bad guy? He would kidnap the children, and kill them when they hit puberty. Captain Hook was actually the good guy, he tried to stop Pan, and return the children to their homes. And yet, in every adaptation, Hook is seen as this comical villain, and Pan is the mischievous hero, idolised by kids everywhere. Things aren't always as they seem, and nor are people. So when people think you're the naughty kid, and the care workers are saints for dealing with you, then screw them! You know the truth, and you need to let it empower you. If Captain Hook had just given up, then Pan would've killed loads of boys. Hook was a hero, and yet everyone paints him as the villain. And you know what, Emma Swan, I reckon you could be a hero too, you could be just what this world needs."

"Wow," Emma was shocked by Killian's impassioned speech, "I've never known any kid who has Captain Hook as their role model."

"You've never known anyone like me," Killian winked, "and I'm not a kid, I may only be 16, but I'm a man."

Killian put the book back, and started to walk out, before stopping in his tracks as the librarian emerged in front of them.

"Killian?" Mrs Gold asked, "I thought you were supposed to be in detention, my husband told me what you did."

"Did he also tell you that he was being a massive bully to Emma? Honestly, Miss, I don't want to be rude to you, because truth be told I like you, but I can't understand why you're with someone as nasty as him. He's been picking on her ever since she arrived, and keeps trying to humiliate her in front of the class. So yeah, I stood up to him, and I'm not ashamed of that. I'm skipping detention because it's not fair that I'm in there in the first place when it's your husband that's the monster!" Killian struggled to keep his voice down, but to Emma's surprise, instead of getting angry, Mrs Gold seemed to relax, and she put her hand kindly on Killian's shoulder.

"I know my husband can seem a little harsh at some times, but he's not a monster, he's got a good heart inside that rough exterior of his, you just need to see it. Not unlike yourself, by the sounds of it. I'm sorry if it felt like he was picking on you both, but I'm sure he was just doing what he thought was right. I'm not gonna tell him about you skipping detention, I'll say that I saw you on the way there, and asked you to help me out in the library, okay? So if you get asked why you weren't in detention, you were helping stack books with me, okay? But for the rest of this week I expect you to go to your detention, I won't cover for you again. Now, you've only got a couple of minutes till the bell rings, so you should go ahead to your class."

The rest of the day was uneventful, Killian had apparently taken Mrs Gold's advice, and gone along to his detention at lunchtime, and for some reason she hadn't been able to find August, so she'd spent the rest of the day in relative solitude, as nobody else paid any attention to her. Classes had been boring, she'd had her first art class, but Ms Feinberg scared her, and the objective had been to sketch a dalmatian pattern, so it had been a very repetitive hour, and she was glad when it finished. Maths had been okay, but she hadn't really learned anything new, and as Miss Blanchard was still away, there'd been a substitute for English. But when Emma got home, she saw a small package in the hall that just said 'Emma' in an untidy scrawl. She asked Gina about it, and was told that someone had just knocked and left it, so Emma curiously carried it up to her room. She sat down on the bed and carefully peeled open the brown paper, pausing as a piece of paper fell on to the floor. She picked it up, and frowned as she read the two word note, 'I'm sorry'. She felt her heartbeat raise as she slowly opened the rest of the package, and she dropped it onto the bed in shock when she saw what was inside it. A second-hand smart phone tumbled down on to the covers, and Emma felt tears welling up inside her eyes.

 _Neal_.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Emma tries to deal with the shock after receiving the unexpected package, Gina interrupts her to let her know she's in trouble. At first, Emma doesn't know what she's done wrong, but it soon becomes abundantly clear who's responsible...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sooooo sorry for the massive delay in posting this, I've been crazy busy! I have exams next month, so I can't promise a consistent upload schedule, but I'll try my best to update every 2 weeks or so :)

Emma lay on her bed, trying to clear her thoughts, but a hundred questions were flooding through her head. ‘ _Why now? Why at all? Does this mean he’s going to come back? Is it even really from Neal? What if someone’s playing tricks on me? What if he’s in trouble?'_  All she wanted was for her mind to shut up so she could think properly, but the questions just kept on coming. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door, and Emma hastily hid the phone under her pillow. “Uh, come in.” She called out, nervously, wiping the corners of her eyes for fear of tears. She was still in shock. The door opened with a bang, and Gina stood in the doorway, frowning.

“Miss Swan, you’ve been here more than 2 weeks now, I’d expect you to have learned the rules.” Gina’s voice was strict and unforgiving. Emma wondered what she’d done wrong, did Gina somehow know about the phone? Were phones not allowed? Or worse, Emma suddenly panicked wondering if Gina realised it was a stolen phone. Emma feigned ignorance as she looked up at her careworker and defiantly shrugged.

“No uninvited guests! You were told that on your first day, and frankly I can’t believe you’d have the audacity to ignore that.” Gina’s glare was piercing through Emma, but now she was just confused, _uninvited guests?_

“I don’t get what you mean, Gina? I didn’t invite anyone here.”

“Then who’s the young lad we found skulking around downstairs? He claims to know you from school.” Gina turned and beckoned someone over, but Emma already knew who it would be. Sure enough, Killian’s cheeky grin appeared from around the corner, a black leather satchel hanging over his shoulder. He mouthed ‘sorry’, but Emma just jerked her gaze away from him, annoyed.

“He’s just a kid from my class, but I promise I didn’t know he was coming over. You have to believe me, Gina.”

“Well, Miss Swan, I don’t. He may as well stay now that he’s here, but you can forget about coming on that shopping trip this weekend. If you want new bedsheets then you’ll have to wait till next month, or find a responsible adult to take you.” And with that, Gina walked out, roughly pushing Killian inside before slamming the door.

“Well, isn’t she just a ray of sunshine?” Killian drawled sarcastically in an attempt to lighten the mood, but Emma was furious at him.

“Do you realise how hard it is for me here? All the other kids already hate me, and the careworkers already expect the worst of me. I’ve been trying to make a good impression, but now Gina’s gonna think I’m a liar and a troublemaker. You suck big time, Killian. Now take your stupid clothes, and your weird Captain Hook obsession, and get the hell out of my room!” Emma didn’t mean to be so cruel, but she was still upset over Neal, and this was just one straw too many. Still, the look of hurt on Killian’s face as she said that last sentence did make her feel a little guilty, and just as he turned to leave, she put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that last bit. I’m just really not having a good day, and you just made it worse. I know you didn’t mean to, but… Why did you come here anyway?”

“To give you these,” Killian smiled, apparently forgiving her, as he took the bag of his shoulder and emptied the contents on to the bed. Out poured a handful of coloured pencils, a sketchbook, a few comics, a fancy silver mirror, an empty DVD case, and a photo frame. Emma looked at him in awe, but confused at the same time, so Killian started to explain. “Your room looked so empty when I visited-” Emma raised her eyebrow at him, so he corrected himself, “When I broke in last time. So I just thought you could do with some more stuff, especially being stuck with a bunch of idiots who don’t understand you. I didn’t really know what you’d want, though, so I’m afraid you only have stuff I like. But I love to draw, and I noticed that you didn’t have so much as a pencil, so I figured you might enjoy it as much as I do. I have tons of drawing equipment, so this was easy to part with. The comics are actually kinda just me being selfish, I wanted someone to talk about superheroes with, and congratulations, I chose you! The mirror is so you can look at your beautiful face, and imagine how much better it would look if my face was there instead,” he paused to wink at her as he said it, and Emma rolled her eyes at his arrogance, “and the photo frame is so you don’t have to hide that picture that August gave you. I knew you didn’t have any other photos, so I figured you wouldn’t have any photo frames either. I thought maybe it would be a nice picture to put beside your bed or something, remind you of happier times… I dunno, obviously it’s down to you and if you want to hide it away in a drawer then that’s cool too. I just wanted to make sure you had the option.”

Killian scratched his ear sheepishly, and Emma struggled to restrain herself from hugging him. She’d messed him around so much, and here he was just trying to make her happy. Suddenly she didn’t care about not going shopping at the weekend, this was much better, whatever ‘this’ was. All she wanted to do was cry and thank him, but that wasn’t her, so instead she tried to act nonchalant.

“Impressive, do you do this for all the girls?” She joked playfully, and Killian smiled back.

“Oh no, only the ones who criticise me and end up landing me in detention for a week. If she’s nice to me? She can forget it.”

“Huh, well I guess I’d better not give you a grateful kiss then!” Emma teased, and Killian’s eyes widened in surprise, and he started stammering.

“Well, I mean, I wouldn’t stop you…” But Emma reached out confidently and put her finger on his lips.

“Please, you couldn’t handle it. Anyway, you didn’t explain what the DVD case is for. I don’t have any DVDs.”

“Huh? Oh, right,” Killian replied, shaking his head to regain focus, “That is so we can go to this really cool market that’s happening near me this weekend. Tons of DVDs, games, books, all at really low prices. It’s a one-off thing, promotion for this shop that’s opening up in a couple of weeks. I thought we could go there, and get you some films to watch.”

“Oh. It’s a nice thought, but as you can see, I don’t have a TV or a DVD player, and the communal one is impossible to get dibs on.” Emma replied sadly, depressed at the lack of entertainment in this place, but Killian just winked at her.

“Well, I guess that’s just more incentive for you to come round mine then, isn’t it?” Killian casually dropped down on to the bed, arms resting behind him, and went to lay his head on the pillow.

“Wait!” Emma called out, but it was too late. Killian felt the lump underneath the pillow, and reached under. He slowly pulled out the phone, but seemed more interested in the note that had come with it. He held it out to her, confusion on his face.

“Emma… What’s this?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Follow to find out whether Emma's finally able to trust Killian enough to tell him the truth of why she moved here.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Killian learns the truth about the phone, and reveals a truth of his own...

Emma winced, turning away from Killian, refusing to acknowledge the note he was holding. But Killian was having none of it. He jumped up from the bed and handed her Neal’s note.

“Emma, come on, answer me. What is this? Who’s sorry? And what did they do to make them feel so sorry they bought you a phone? … Is this something to do with why you were kicked out from your old school?”

“Yes!” Emma shouted, all her emotions finally bubbling to the surface. “That is exactly what it is! I got the blame when I didn’t do anything, and that’s why he’s sorry! That phone is the _reason_ that I got kicked out! I was accused of stealing it!” Emma started to cry despite herself. Killian awkwardly put his arm round her to comfort her, but she shrugged it off. “I don’t need your sympathy, I just want to be left alone.”

“Sure, I can do that. I’ll go if you want? But if you ever need to talk, then I’m here. And I know you’re upset now, but I’m not accepting any excuses for you not coming with me to the market on Saturday. I’ll have my uncle pick you up outside here at midday, so make sure to clear it with that psycho careworker of yours.” Killian patted Emma on the shoulder, and turned to walk out, but Emma stopped him.

“You live with your uncle? I thought your parents moved here from England?”

“No. _I_ moved here from England. Just me.” There was a touch of sadness in his voice as he said the words, and Emma thought she could see a flicker of a tear in the corner of his eyes.

“How come?” Emma knew it wasn’t really her place to ask, but Killian was always nosy about her life, it was only fair that she returned the favour.

“You have your secrets, I have mine. I’ll see you on Saturday.”

***

Saturday came quicker than Emma had expected, and at 11:50 she was stood by the door, ready to be collected. She didn’t have much pocket money saved up, but she hoped she’d be able to buy something small, maybe another comic. She’d never read one before, but had found herself getting caught up in the ones that Killian had given her, and was excited to find more. She also took her phone with her, it had come with a sim card already in it, so she figured if anything bad happened she’d be able to call for help. It had been tricky to get Gina to agree to let her go, but as Killian’s uncle came under ‘responsible adult’, it had been perfectly within the rules.

The doorbell finally rang, and Emma rushed over, inwardly admonishing herself for her over-excitement. She was greeted by Killian’s cheeky grin, and he bowed dramatically.

“My lady,” he said, in a faux-posh accent, reaching out his hand. Emma rolled her eyes, stepping past him, but despite herself took his hand briefly as she stepped out. He looked surprised, and she quickly let go, brushing off her hand as though nothing had happened.

“So, uh, where’s your uncle parked?” She asked quickly, desperately trying to change the subject before realising how stupid that must have sounded, as there was only one car in the carpark. Killian smirked, before feigning worry and spinning on the spot with a panicked look.

“I don’t know, Swan, where could he be parked?! I guess we must’ve been abandoned!” He stopped, and put a hand on her arm, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean… Poor choice of words.” Emma knew that he hadn’t meant it, and after a lifetime of people teasing her for having being abandoned, she wasn’t going to give Killian a hard time over an accidental slip of the tongue.

“Don’t sweat it,” She smiled, and his shoulders relaxed, relief visible on his face. “So anyway, we should probably get going.”

“You’re right… Shotgun!” Killian called, racing towards the car.

“Hey, that’s cheating,” Emma shouted after him, running to catch up, but resigning herself to the backseat as Killian already had his hand on the handle. She settled down in the comfy leather seat, and leaned back as his uncle began to drive. His uncle was a quiet man, and apparently that was the way he liked it, as Killian was unnaturally reserved throughout the entire journey, so Emma just sat awkwardly in the back, afraid to break the silence by speaking. It was only a short 20 minute drive to the market, so before long they arrived, and they got out of the car. Killian thanked his uncle and promised to call him when it was time to be picked up, and without another word, his uncle drove off.

“So… Yeah. My uncle’s kinda intense. He’s not one for small talk, or indeed, any talk. He’s nice though. He doesn’t have any kids of his own, but he accepted me into his house without any fuss. He’s a good man, the world would be a better place with more people like him. Anyway, sorry, I’m boring you, let’s see what there is!” Killian walked off into the market, and so Emma followed him, gazing around at all the various items on sale. There were book stalls, jewellery stalls, DVD stalls, clothes stalls, and one young Asian lady in the corner selling replica swords.

“Can we check out some comics? I got really into the ones you gave me, I was hoping to find a new one.” Emma asked Killian, as they passed an array of graphic novels. He raised his eyebrows, delight evident on his face.

“Seriously, you liked them? I knew you would! I love them because they’re like an escape. You can live a thousand adventures within those pages, but you’re never in any danger like you would be in real life. You can live through another, you get all the excitement with none of the commitment, and you learn important lessons. Plus, the artwork can be ridiculously awesome. Which was your favourite?”

“They were all cool, but I loved Wonder Woman. I like how she doesn’t take any nonsense from anyone, she gets to be the heroine of her story.”

“Kinda like you then.” Killian spoke without a hint of sarcasm, and it made Emma feel good about herself. For all his teasing, and somewhat annoying habits, Killian was a genuine guy, and the more she got to know him, the more she felt safe around him, something she hadn’t felt about anyone since she met Neal. Killian was always honest, even if what he had to say wasn’t always great to hear. He didn’t speak to her as if she was that weird girl from the care home, but he also didn’t completely ignore her circumstances. He acknowledged them just enough to show he cared, but without making it into a big deal, and she appreciated that.

“How about you, which is your favourite? You seem to fancy yourself a lot, so let me guess, Superman?” Emma put her hands on her sides in the classic Superman posed, and Killian laughed and copied her.

“Haha, well of course I fancy myself, have you seen this body?” He joked, gesturing to himself. “But no, actually my favourite is Batman. He’s just so much more, I dunno, real. He’s not a caricature of a superhero, he’s not perfect, he’s just rough around the edges and does what he thinks is right. I can empathise with him, I wish I had the strength to be like him.”

“Why would you want to be like him?” Emma asked, curious? She’d read one of the Batman comics he’d given her, and although it had been a really cool story, his life had seemed super dark, certainly not the kind of life most people would want for themselves. But Killian looked pained, all of the laughter from seconds ago was gone from his face, replaced with sadness.

“Because he’s alone. He lost the people he loved. But he’s somehow able to deal with it… How does he do that, Emma?” And all of a sudden, Killian started crying, small sobs that shook his body as the tears trickled from his eyes. Emma wasn’t sure exactly what to do, but knew that he needed to be away from all the people around them.

“Hey, it’ll be alright, come on, let’s go outside, you can talk to me.” They walked for a little while, until they found a bench next to a stream, just a short distance from the market. Killian took a few deep breaths, and wiped the tears from his eyes, calming himself down. For a few minutes, they just sat together in silence, but eventually he spoke.

“My brother Liam was in the navy. He was really good at it, too, he’d only been at it 2 years, but was already working his way up to being a lieutenant. We were really close growing up, our mother had died in a car crash when we were young, and our dad had never been the same since. We didn’t really know any other kids as our dad insisted on home-schooling us so we relied on each other for support. We would read cool stories together about voyages at sea, my brother had always had his heart set on joining the navy, so we both became obsessed with the sea. I was so proud of him when he joined the navy, but it also meant I got to see him less and less. He’d call home when he could, and we were still close, but it was hard having him so far away. Then a few weeks ago, I got a call from his phone, but it wasn’t him who answered. It was his captain, he told me to sit down. I asked what was going on, but he insisted that I sit down, and then he passed me on to Liam. His breathing… Even now it still haunts me, it was so shallow, and he sounded so scared, Emma. He begged me to help him, said he was in pain, told me he couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know what to do or say, I just kept on saying that I loved him, I told him it was gonna be okay, and I could hear him crying on the other end of the line. And then nothing. There was just silence. I was shouting and shouting, willing him to answer me, but he didn’t say anything. And then his captain was back on the line, he explained to me that Liam had somehow been poisoned. I asked if Liam was still alive, if they could save him. The captain just told me that he was sorry, and then hung up.

I had to be the one to tell dad. He was at work when I got the phone call, so I just sat in the same place for hours, feeling empty, wishing I would wake up. I’ll never forget the look on my dad’s face when he realised his eldest son was dead. He collapsed on the floor, and started crying. Then he just stopped, told me he was going to go for a walk, and left, just like that. I never saw my dad again. The next day there was a knock at the door, and the police explained to me that he’d hung himself. I guess the pain of losing his wife, and his son was just too much for him. But I can’t forgive him for it, Emma. He left me all alone. He still had me, but I wasn’t enough for him. I was left with nobody.

Social services gave me a choice, I could go into the system, or they could try and contact my dad’s brother in America to see if he’d take me. I’d never met my uncle, dad had a difficult relationship with him, but I couldn’t bear the thought of being alone, so I asked them to try. My uncle didn’t even question it. He accepted as soon as they called me, he even paid to have my things flown over with me. I honestly don’t know where I’d be without him. But I still miss Liam every day, he shouldn’t have gone like that. He shouldn’t have gone at all, but if he had to die then he deserved a heroic death, not poisoning. They still don’t know what happened, they don’t know if it was deliberate or accidental. But I’m determined to find out one day. That’s why I want to be like Batman, I want there to be justice.”

“I’m sorry.” Emma didn’t know what else to say, Killian’s story had been so emotional, and she wanted to do something to take away his sadness. Slowly, Emma reached out her hand, and clasped his inside her own. She doubted it would do much to cheer him up, but she wanted to let him know that he wasn’t alone. They sat like that for several minutes, fingers intertwined, staring silently at the water running along the river. And despite the sombre circumstances, Emma couldn’t help but feel content with him beside her.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long delay, I hope to try and update more frequently now. Please let me know what you think, feedback is always appreciated :)


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